Silver value calculator

MICHAELDIXON · October 7, 2009 8:07AM

I did a search and could not find one listed on the boards here.

So, Click for silver value calculator

coinmanic · October 7, 2009 8:11AM

Very useful. Thank you. I like the way that includes the days close as well.

pakasmom · October 7, 2009 8:37AM

Yes. Thank you. That will be handy to have bookmarked. Appreciate it....

ksteelheader · October 7, 2009 9:11AM

Here is another, Cuz!!

coindeuce · October 7, 2009 9:20AM

Both calculators linked here conveniently fail to adjust for worn circulated coinage. Of course if one expects to get full value for low grade or slicks/culls one should be prepared for disappointment, especially in large face amounts. And certain denoms don't bring any where near the +/- spread from intrinsic value purported in those links. Take Warnicks as a perfect example. The cost to refine those today for the silver is prohibitive, and hardly anyone in the business wants to be bothered with carting/storing bag quantities of Warnicks.

MsMorrisine · October 7, 2009 9:45AM

bother me, please.

keets · October 7, 2009 9:55AM

most dealers buy junk silver based on face value, not silver content, so in that regard the converters linked aren't very helpful.

morgandollar1878 · October 7, 2009 10:35AM

Very nice, thanks for posting this site. Got it bookmarked.

coinmanic · October 7, 2009 10:44AM

So the kind fellow posts a useful calculator and two members find a negative. The calculator certainly is a very good start for us simpletons that sit with a calculator and redbook ciphering appx worth of our bulk silver coins.

cbxerxes · October 7, 2009 10:55AM

Get used to it - lots of people like that around here. Just ask 70MD.

Swampboy · October 7, 2009 11:00AM

<< So the kind fellow posts a usefull calculator and two members find a negative. The calculator certainly is a very good start for us simpletons that sit with a calculator and redbook ciphering appx worth of our buld silver coins. >>

Agree.

MsMorrisine · October 7, 2009 11:12AM

Actually, the "Silver % of Denomination" on the home page does show value relative to face:

The hated slick warnicks would be worth at most ~19.6x face (1962.48%), but of course, a dealer might just adjust the multiple down if they're fairly slick nicks.

90% half dollars are running ~12.6x face (1261.59%).

The first calculator shows the maximum value based upon the number of coins. It is just a bit more work to multiply the # of coins and each coin's face value to find the face value of each lot of each type. It's also another bit of work to do the division of the silver value and the face value to get the multiplier. But, the math isn't hard and gives the max. dollar value for each type without calculation, whereas the above would require the multiplication.

eh.

it is still workable.

keets · October 7, 2009 11:20AM

So the kind fellow posts a usefull calculator and two members find a negative.
Get used to it - lots of people like that around here

your, kidding, right???

go reread what we posted and tell me where it's negative. all we did was perhaps prevent someone from making a mistake by thinking they'll get full value based on what the silver content of a coin is valued at, nothing past that at all. we get the occasional uninformed non-collector into the shop who expects to get paid in this fashion and they are always dissappointed and confused when that doesn't happen.

MORGANHUNTER2 · October 7, 2009 11:32AM

So if I walked into your shop with say 500 uncirculated Frankies and another 500 uncirculated walkers you would not offer me silver value on them?

That would be a bit odd don't you think?

I'll leave the 300 unc Morgans out of the picture for now.

keets · October 7, 2009 11:38AM

So if I walked into your shop with say 500 uncirculated Frankies and another 500 uncirculated walkers you would not offer me silver value on them?

no, we wouldn't. what we would do is offer you the GreySheet numismatic value of those items which would be considerably higher than the bullion content. but if you want to act like an idiot about the whole thing you go ahead and come to our shop and offer us that stuff, we'll gladly meet your demand and pay bullion content/melt for all the BU Walkers and Franklins you have.

got any other idiotic replies you want to try to stir things up with. what a jerk.

and please leave the Morgans in the picture, we pay past melt for VF's, but again, we'll gladly pay Bullion content for the BU's you want to get rid of. heck, we aim to please.

coinmanic · October 7, 2009 11:47AM

<< So the kind fellow posts a usefull calculator and two members find a negative.
Get used to it - lots of people like that around here

your, kidding, right???

go reread what we posted and tell me where it's negative. all we did was perhaps prevent someone from making a mistake by thinking they'll get full value based on what the silver content of a coin is valued at, nothing past that at all. we get the occasional uninformed non-collector into the shop who expects to get paid in this fashion and they are always dissappointed and confused when that doesn't happen. >>

I am not kidding. No one expects that the calculator provides a be all, end all device to accuarately tell what a dealer will pay. That would be impossible. It does give a very close estimation (of course wear is a factor) of what your coins are worth at spot price.

Maybe we can add a 1/2 divisor function for those that enter your store.

Now I am kidding.

19Lyds · October 7, 2009 11:53AM

PM me with an email and I'll send you an Excel spreadsheet where all you need to do is plug in the current price of silver and all the coin values will get calculated for you.

Looks like this:

keets · October 7, 2009 11:56AM

Lee, don't point out anything to these guys which runs contrary to what the "calculators" say or it'll be perceived as negative even if all your trying to do is provide information. it is hopeless, some just see what they want to see.

CEOGBOSE · October 7, 2009 12:54PM

Here's another link I use on CoinSpace.com works well.

Silver Melt Calculator

MsMorrisine · October 7, 2009 1:09PM

<< Lee, don't point out anything to these guys which runs contrary to what the "calculators" say or it'll be perceived as negative even if all your trying to do is provide information. it is hopeless, some just see what they want to see. >>

but but

the calculator's numbers are higher so I like them better and believe them more

MsMorrisine · October 7, 2009 1:19PM

19Lyds.... for the war nickels, why does your number and the web site number differ so much?

hmmm looks like you have a total weight of 5 grains instead of 5 grams.

MsMorrisine · October 7, 2009 1:35PM

I hear what you are saying. I definitely know I'll never see 12.6x today for my 90% 1964 Half Dollars.

Just because I point to that and say it's at 12.6x doesn't mean I expect that. At least I have an established value range of $0.50 to ~12.6x face today. What do I expect? Well, it's a matter of waiting for Longacre to finish walking the bourse floor on his junk silver price discovery mission and finding out who offers the most. And it certainly helps knowing 12.6x instead of nothing and simply listening to what the purchaser is telling you what it is "really" worth.

anyway, 19Lyds spreadsheet for the 90% half dollars is essentially the same number (or really really close) that the web site would generate. I don't see how his would be any less "misleading" to the ill-informed.

I'm not trying to get into it with anyone. just saying stuff.

19Lyds · October 7, 2009 1:51PM

<< 19Lyds.... for the war nickels, why does your number and the web site number differ so much?

hmmm looks like you have a total weight of 5 grains instead of 5 grams. >>

CoinFacts.com only gave the weight of the War Nickels in grams and not grains of silver whereas all the other coins provided a weight in grains so the calculation will be off.

However, these are only war nickels so I think its a nit.

As for folks attempting to keep a dealer at actual bullion value?

Good luck since it leaves them no room for resale or markup which is only fair.

They could be like banks and only offer you face value!

MsMorrisine · October 7, 2009 2:01PM

but but

that means I'm throwing in the copper for free

19Lyds · October 7, 2009 2:12PM

I use my spread sheet to make an approximation of what I should expect to pay for rolls of coins and an approximation of what I should expect to receive for rolls based upon calculated weights. Those weights have little correlation with actual value since the silver still has to be refined out of the alloy and refining costs money.

It would be nice to be able to sell at the calculated weight though wouldn't it?

Edited to add: To heck with your copper!

MsMorrisine · October 7, 2009 2:14PM

5 grams in grains

mr1931S · October 7, 2009 6:15PM

To say that a war nickel contains a negligible amount of silver is not correct.A War nickel contains about 77% of the silver of a silver dime so whatever the silver value of a dime is multiply by .77.For example, if a silver dime has $1.28 of silver value,the war nickel has $1.00 of silver value.Now,thats not to say that,when selling,one would be offered 77% of the value of a silver dime for a war nickel.

It takes $1.40 (actually,$1.38) of US 90% to make 1 oz of pure silver.If silver spot is at $14, divide by $1.40 to arrive at a "times face" value.In this case of $14 spot,it would be 10x. Of course,for this example of $14 spot silver,one would be offered a value below 10x face for their 90% so that the dealer can make a profit.

ponderit · October 7, 2009 6:46PM

Thanks to the folks that posted the reference sites.

ksteelheader · October 7, 2009 9:27PM

<< Get used to it - lots of people like that around here. Just ask 70MD. >>

Boo hoo hoo

MICHAELDIXON · October 7, 2009 10:07PM

These calculators are not meant to be the final word. We all know some dealers pay less and some pay more. I listed it to give boardmembers an idea of what to expect and have something as a reference. Yesterday, I was talking to a man about coins and he asked what the silver he just sold was worth. He received 4 times face at a local shop, which has a bad reputation and has been in existance for years. I hear horror stories about this shop's buying prices all the time. Would this have helped him? ABSOLUTELY!

keets, I like you and respect you, but your statement: "most dealers buy junk silver based on face value, not silver content, so in that regard the converters linked aren't very helpful. " is 50% true and 50% ignorant. Did you read what your wrote? If the calculator says a silver dime is worth $1.20, that tells me I should expect to receive around 12X face, likewise with all the other denominations. So, how can the converters linked not be very helpful? Working in a coin shop might make you a genius on a daily basis, as you know the price of silver and what to pay, but what about John Q. Public? Most likely he will not know and, if he goes to an unscrupulous dealer, he will not receive anywhere close to what he should. I have owned two B&M shops and I always liked to deal with people on an up front basis.

Think about the positives you can do to promote the hobby, not how you can post a negative comment trying to make yourself look intelligent. People, whether coin collectors or not, need to be informed. Otherwise, they are going to lose out by selling their numismatic items too cheap. My small show starts tomorrow and I hope everybody who attends, who are trying to sell silver, gold (or anything), know an estimate of the value.

I'd recommend those of us who do not work in a coin shop bookmark the calculator. It is helpful, as a guide and might save you or your loved one money. Don't let somebody you know get taken by somebody who wants them kept like a mushroom.

CarlWohlforth · October 7, 2009 10:15PM

I found those calculators slightly awkward when trying to quickly figure odd amounts of mixed coins. Say for example someone calls and says they have $12.40 of 90% silver. I don't want to quiz them on how much of that is quarters and how much is dimes fill in two amounts and add them up. It is a small thing and doesn't really matter much, but in any case I wrote my own calculator Carl's Coin silver calculator.

I would have pre-filled in the silver price field with a value but couldn't quickly find a free silver price feed. If anybody has suggestions on improving it please PM me. If I agree and it is easy I'll make the changes.

I thought about the wear issue. I didn't actually weigh any coins, I don't have a scale accurate enough to measure wear. I'm thinking this can't be an issue to worry much about. If you get to really large amounts of coins where the tiny losses may add up to something significant you probably aren't counting coins anyway. At that point you are probably simply weighing bags of coins so losses are not an issue because you have the actual weight.

mr1931S · October 8, 2009 2:00AM

I thought about the wear issue. I didn't actually weigh any coins, I don't have a scale accurate enough to measure wear. I'm thinking this can't be an issue to worry much about.

It is impossible to actually measure wear by weighing a coin.The reason for this is the weight tolerances that are allowed when the coin is being made.I have proven this to myself by weighing well-worn coins individually and comparing the weight to the weight of not-so-worn coins.

I don't really think it is an issue.Wear is a redistribution of the metal on the coin for the most part.Some of the metal actually comes off the coin as it circulates but it's not that much.My scale is sensitive enough to arrive at a conclusion like this.

He received 4 times face at a local shop, which has a bad reputation and has been in existance for years. I hear horror stories about this shop's buying prices all the time. Would this have helped him? ABSOLUTELY!

Stories like this have caused me to continue to periodically shake my head (which started around 1980.) Buying "junk" silver coin at fair price is one of the easiest things a dealer should be able to do.Sadly,greed takes over all too often,however.

keets · October 8, 2009 9:53AM

ksteelheader · October 8, 2009 9:55AM

coindeuce · October 8, 2009 10:32AM

The simplest way to calculate the melt value of U.S. 90% silver coinage:
$1,000 face value of any mix of denominations(dime/quarter/half) in uncirculated condition contains 72 troy ounces of pure silver. This is guaranteed by the U.S. Mint. So by multiplying spot price X .720 X face amount = actual melt value.

For lesser condition coins, the multiplier can be adjusted down accordingly. I've seen it as low as .655, in the case of large face amounts of slick dimes. As mentioned here previously, there are exceptions, such as higher circ. grade Walking Liberty Half dollars, which are not usually regarded as "junk silver"

ProofArtworkonCircs · October 8, 2009 2:42PM

<<The simplest way to calculate the melt value of U.S. 90% silver coinage:
$1,000 face value of any mix of denominations(dime/quarter/half) in uncirculated condition contains 72 troy ounces of pure silver. This is guaranteed by the U.S. Mint. So by multiplying spot price X .720 X face amount = actual melt value.>>

I understand that dealers consider .715 oz per dollar (allowing for some wear) as a more accurate figure for real live coins.
The 90 % silver dollar has .77 oz silver in it.

BlindedByEgo · October 8, 2009 3:13PM

I used to like going to ajpm.com and checking their X FACE spread between buy and sell. While not absolute, this gave me a good handle on what I might expect at a show or local store, or use for a private party buy.

Every so often when buying, I will run into a person who says "Joe Blow coin store down the street offered me $0.50 per dime, but so-and-so said I should get 27X face." I explain that I buy them for a few percentage point back of full price, but they are welcome to take them elsewhere.

Please remember, even with the best calculators in the world, the price is set by the successful buyer. Your job is to find the buyer willing to pay the most.

Silver value calculator

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Fall National Battlefield Coin Show is September 5-7, 2024 at the Eisenhower Hotel in Gettysburg, PA. Thanksgiving Battlefield Coin Show is November 29-30, 2024. WWW.AmericasCoinShows.com

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